PhD Studentship: Co-production and decolonial archiving

Start date – 1 October 2026

This studentship is based in the College of Arts, Technology and Environment.

Problem statement

Black and Global Majority communities continue to face structural constraints in defining, accessing, and governing their own cultural heritage data. Traditional archival systems rooted in colonial epistemologies, institutional custodianship, and extractive data practices determine what is preserved, how it is classified, and who retains authority. These logics frequently erase nuance, reproduce racialised forms of knowledge control, and limit community autonomy over memory, representation, and cultural interpretation.

The UnMuseum project, led by BSWN and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, represents a national project which has significant regional intervention into these inequities. BSWN, as a leading racial justice organisation in the South West and the lead partner of the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported UnMuseum project, positions the initiative as a collaborative research context rather than a delivery site, enabling the doctoral researcher to retain full critical independence.

Aim

To investigate and theorise how Black and Global Majority communities define, negotiate, and govern cultural heritage data through co-production and decolonial archival methodologies.

Objectives

Analyse community-led approaches to representation, metadata, classification, and custodianship.

• Critique existing archival and data governance models, tracing embedded colonial logics.
• Develop and test new frameworks for community-controlled cultural data through mixed-method or practice-based research.
• Explore film, audio, and digital storytelling as tools for both analysis and methodological innovation.
• Examine how emerging UnMuseum practices open new pathways while challenging entrenched archival norms.

Methodology

The research adopts a mixed-method and critically reflexive design informed by decolonial, participatory, and community-engaged approaches.

• Co-Production and Community Research: Collaborate with UnMuseum partners, community curators, and Black and Global Majority participants to map cultural data needs, values, and governance practices.
• Decolonial Archival Analysis: Critically examine metadata schemas and heritage workflows, identifying where colonial assumptions are reproduced.
• Critical Data Studies: Analyse cultural data infrastructures how authority, classification, and ownership are structured and evaluate alternative models such as community-defined metadata or consent-based access systems.
• Practice-Based Inquiry: Produce research artefacts (e.g. digital stories, prototype micro-archives, experimental metadata models) to iteratively explore and refine emerging concepts.
• Evolving Research Pathway: As the UnMuseum develops, the PhD will analyse shifts, innovations, tensions, and critiques, ensuring the project evolves dynamically with community priorities.

UWE Bristol’s facilities, including DCRC labs and The Bridge, may support prototyping, filming, and interactive design experiments.

Outcomes

• A conceptual and practical framework for community-governed cultural data.
• Models for decolonial metadata, community classification systems, and values-based custodianship.
• New methodological contributions to digital humanities, community media, and ethical data governance.
• Enhanced understanding of how BGM-led heritage work can reshape cultural infrastructures.
• Research that supports, but does not operationally deliver, the UnMuseum’s longterm development.